Freezepop is an American electronic band from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States, formed in 1999 by Liz Enthusiasm, Sean T. Drinkwater, and The Duke of Pannekoeken (an alias for Kasson Crooker). Since December 2009, the current lineup includes Enthusiasm, Drinkwater, Robert John "Bananas" Foster, and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan. The band is named after the frozen snack, and they have described their music as "sweet and cold and fruity and plastic-y". Several of the band's songs have appeared in video games, including the

Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bein ...

titles ''

Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

'', ''

Amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of am ...

'', ''

Karaoke Revolution ''Karaoke Revolution'' and its sequels are music video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The original c ...

'', ''

Phase Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform *Phase space, a mathematica ...

'', the ''

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead guitar, lead, bass guitar, bass, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Players match ...

'' series, the ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' series, and Neon FM. Their music has also been included in ''

Downhill Domination ''Downhill Domination'' is a racing video game developed by Incog Inc. Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in North America in 2003 and in Europe by Codemasters in 2004. Gameplay The ...

'' and '' Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3''. Freezepop songs continue to appear in certain Harmonix titles. Former member Kasson Crooker currently works as a senior producer at Harmonix. The group is popular with college students in Boston and has become part of the US

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

scene.

Early life

Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan (Ashley Holtgraver) once wrote a letter to ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'' that was read out-loud in the episode ''

Fire Maidens from Outer Space ''Fire Maidens from Outer Space'' (or ''Fire Maidens of Outer Space'' in US), is a 1956 British independent black-and-white science fiction feature film. It was written, produced and directed by American filmmaker Cy Roth as a collaboration bet ...

''. She later appeared with ''

Joel Hodgson Joel Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer, comedian, and television actor. He is best known for creating ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K'') and starring in it; he played the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, ''MST3K'' ...

'' in the series' Turkey Day 2015.

Background

Originally, their music was entirely composed on a small portable

MIDI sequencer A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Contr ...

, a Yamaha QY70, which has often been mistaken for a

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

. On more recent albums, they have expanded their toolkit due to a lack of variety in the sounds the QY70 provided, but it still remains an important part of the composing process. The release of '' Future Future Future Perfect'' only features the QY70 in a single song, that being "Pop Music Is Not a Crime".

In addition to Freezepop, Kasson, who had previously been in fellow

band

Splashdown Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft or launch vehicle in a body of water, usually by parachute. This has been the primary recovery method of American capsules including NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Orion along with th ...

, still records as a solo artist Symbion Project. Drinkwater is also a member of the bands Lifestyle and Karacter, and worked with the band Polystar on their debut album. Enthusiasm appears on the song "Boom Box Chic" by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based LeMans Electro. In addition to dozens of remixes released over the years, Freezepop released a remix of their song "Shark Attack" done by

chiptune Chiptune, also called 8-bit music (although not all chiptune is 8-bit music), is a style of electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video gam ...

band 8 Bit Weapon in October 2007. The remix was done with a

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

and a

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

computer. A recurring theme in Freezepop's music is references to science, technology, and mathematics. As examples, the "hi-phive" mix of "Science Genius Girl" features Enthusiasm reciting the first thirty digits of

Phi Phi ( ; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voiceless bilabial plos ...

. Additionally, the "Robotron 2002" "All Your Base Are Belong to Us" remix by DJ Nebula pays homage to the Internet meme

All your base are belong to us "All your base are belong to us" is an Internet meme based on a Engrish, poorly translated phrase from the opening cutscene of the Japanese video game ''Zero Wing''. The phrase first appeared on the European release of the 1991 Sega Mega Drive P ...

. Freezepop was arrested in Canada in November 2006 for trying to enter the country under false pretenses. Harmonix pokes fun at them for this in the loading screens for their songs, in ''

'' and ''

Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...

''. On June 4, 2009, it was announced on Freezepop's official website that founding member the Duke of Pannekoeken (originally the Duke of Candied Apples, as well as the Duke of Belgian Waffles, all three

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s of Crooker) would be leaving the band. Crooker stated, "My responsibilities at Harmonix making games continue to increase which takes away from my time and energy to compose and go out on the road to play shows." He also added that he had plans to focus on his side endeavor Symbion Project while also doing Freezepop remixes in the future. His last show as a member of the band was at the

Penny Arcade Expo PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and Melbourne. Previously, it was also held in San Anton ...

2009 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

on September 5. On November 25, 2009, the band announced the addition of two new members: Robert John "Bananas" Foster and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan. On April 25, 2016, the band launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

campaign to raise money for a fifth studio album to follow ''Imaginary Friends'' (2010). They posted a video, along with a photo of a royalty check of $2.93 that they received for online

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of online streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to s ...

services. The band's initial goal was US $30,000, which was reached in less than 24 hours. Their next goal of $40,000 was reached, which allowed the band to also release the album on vinyl. More stretch goals have been set for additional content, such as collaborations and a remix album. The album, titled ''Fantasizer'', was released on October 6, 2020.

Soundtrack appearances

Along with bands such as

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer Christian Jacobs, the MC Bat Commander and bassist Chad Larson, Crash McLarson have ...

Bad Credit A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repayment of debts. A credit report is a record of the borrower's credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. A bo ...

, and Slowdraw the Hungry Eskimo, their music is featured in the comedy series '' Mega64'', which also produced the music video for Freezepop's song "

Brainpower Brainpower (born Gerrit-Jan Mulder; February 5, 1975) is a Dutch rapper. Born in Belgium, he grew up in the Netherlands. He has released six studio albums since 1990. Early life Gertjan Mulder was born in Antwerp, Belgium. He was raised in A ...

". Freezepop's song "Swimming Pool" was featured in the episode "Liquid Heat" in the fifth season of ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'', originally aired March 2, 2008. "Frontload" was featured in the final episode of the fourth season of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's '' The Hills'', which originally aired on December 22, 2008. In 2010. their song "Less Talk, More Rokk" was featured in ''The Fourth Panel'', a web TV series from the webcomic ''

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

''.

Critical reception

Freezepop won Best New Band at the 2002 American Synthpop Awards and were semifinalists on WBCN's Rumble competition. In early 2006, Freezepop's "Stakeout" won in the Dance/Electronica – Song category at The 5th Annual Independent Music Awards.

Band members

Current

* Liz Enthusiasm – vocals (1999–present) * The Other Sean T. Drinkwater –

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s (1999–present), programming (2009–present) * Robert John "Bananas" Foster –

keytar A keytar (a portmanteau of ''keyboard'' and ''guitar'') is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held. Overview Though the ...

(2009–present), live "drums" (2009–present) * Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan – synthesizers (2009–present),

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''vo''ice and en''coder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder wa ...

(2009–present)

Past

* Kasson Crooker (as The Duke of Pannekoeken, The Duke Of Pancakes, and The Duke Of Candied Apples) – programming (1999–2009)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Freezepop Forever ''Freezepop Forever'' is the debut studio album by synthpop band Freezepop, originally released in 2000. The album has been reissued multiple times, each including different bonus tracks or videos. The 2002 European release on the Elefant label f ...

'' (2000) * ''

Fancy Ultra•Fresh ''Fancy Ultra•Fresh'' is the second studio album by American electronic music, electronic band Freezepop (band), Freezepop. It was released on April 20, 2004 by Archenemy Record Company, The Archenemy Record Company. The enhanced CD features a ...

'' (2004) * '' Future Future Future Perfect'' (2007) * '' Imaginary Friends'' (2010) * ''Fantasizer'' (2020) * ''Fog'' (2023) * ''February Fourteen'' (2025)

EPs, remix albums, and compilations

* '' The Orange EP'' (EP, 2000, limited edition CD-R) * '' The Purple EP'' (EP, 2000, limited edition CD-R) * ''

Fashion Impression Function ''Fashion Impression Function'' is a 2001 EP by Freezepop. Tracks 5, 7, 8 and 9 are remix versions of songs found on the band's previous album ''Freezepop Forever ''Freezepop Forever'' is the debut studio album by synthpop band Freezepop, ...

'' (EP, 2001) * '' Hi-Five My Remix'' (remix, 2003) * '' Mini Ultra•Fresh'' (remix, 2004, promo only) * '' Maxi Ultra•Fresh'' (remix, 2005, out-of-print) * '' Less Talk More Rokk'' (remix EP, 2007, digital-only release) * '' Form Activity Motion'' (remix EP, 2008, online) * ''The Sexy Sounds Of Freezepop'' (EP, 2008) * '' Doppelgänger EP'' (EP, 2012, online) * ''Ultra•Spectacular Bonanza'' (compilation, 2014, USB Drive) * '' The Covers EP'' (EP, 2015, online) * '' Phantoms'' (EP, 2015, online) *''Santasizer'' (EP, 2020, online)

Singles

* "Bike Thief" (2003, 12") * "Dancy Ultra•Fresh" (2005, 12") * "The Rokk Suite" (2006, CD single) * Anchor to the World Below (2020, Maxi-Single) * The Ghost Rejoins the Living (2021, Maxi-Single) * Rare Bird (2022, Maxi-Single) * Babes (2022, Maxi-Single) * Step into the Sunshine! (2022, Maxi-Single)

Remixes by Freezepop

* "Seven Boom Medley" (Multi-cover) (2004) – " Boom Boom" by Paul Lekakis and "

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys, released as a single in October 1998 from the band's first compilation, ''Greatest Hits! Part 1'' (1998), and their first international studio album, ''The Party Album (Ven ...

" by The Vengaboys * "Unicorn" (Killin' Remix) (2004) – by

Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian band that produces a style of electro rock, industrial rock, synth-pop and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene as "futurepop". Apoptygm ...

* "Unicorn" (Killin' Club Remix) (2004) – by Apoptygma Berzerk

Remixes of Freezepop

* "Duct Tape My Heart" (Remix) (

Hyperbubble Hyperbubble is an international visual art, visual and performing arts electropop/synth-pop duo from San Antonio, Texas, formed by Jeff DeCuir and Jess Barnett DeCuir. The music of this United States, American group is variously described as "ear ...

, 2005) * "Science Genius Girl" (Robotkid's Lameboy Remix) ( Robotkid, 2007) * "Thought Balloon" (Ming & Ping Rethink) ( Ming and Ping, 2008) * "Tender Lies" (DECTalk Remix) (Druaga1, 2010)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Chiptune and tracker musicians Cordless Recordings artists Electroclash groups Electronic music groups from Massachusetts American electronic rock musical groups Independent Music Awards winners Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Boston American musical quartets American synth-pop groups Video game musicians 1999 establishments in Massachusetts